FIFPRO advises Council of Europe on athlete security and protection

Some of the important topics discussed during the conference included human rights violations in sport, such as sexual abuse, racism, discrimination, violence and gender inequality. The subject of threats to the integrity of sport was also raised, including doping, match fixing and corruption. The Council recognised the importance of acknowledging the existence of these issues and strengthening solidarity within sports, especially considering the increasing tensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jonas Baer-Hoffmann was asked how FIFPRO is addressing issues such as racism, homophobia and hate speech in football. He said: “The reality is, although these are issues happening in sports, they really are a societal problem. Where on the one hand sports provides a platform for positivity, it also provides a platform for activities by bigots and other violent people that are visible to hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions of people.” Baer-Hoffman said it’s time to act rather than merely acknowledging the problem: “The players that we speak to, they’ve had enough. They’ve had enough of campaigns, they’ve had enough of slogans. These might be important items for raising awareness, but what the athletes need is action – right now.”

 “The representation of people that have personal experiences with marginalisation or discrimination is very limited. And that is the starting point of where we need to tackle this issue,” he said. “The problem is that protocols still exist that basically force an employee, which is what an athlete is, to accept multiple repeat offences of discrimination in his or her own working environment before something is done – and often even these protocols fail. That needs to change and we need to embrace the athletes’ activism and right to protest.”